


A Broken Sunset

by Gray_Skies_Rising



Series: Living in the Dawn and Dusk [8]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: ASL, Alternate Universe - Dark, American Sign Language, Bad Parents Jack and Janet Drake, Character Study, Dark Batfamily (DCU), Dick Grayson was a Talon, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Mentioned Bruce Wayne, Mentioned Jack Drake, Mentioned Janet Drake, Romani Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown is Robin, Tim’s parents are alive and causing problems, and subject to change, cryptic title is unnecessarily cryptic, self-deprecating thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:09:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26907901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gray_Skies_Rising/pseuds/Gray_Skies_Rising
Summary: When she’s Spoiler, everything is covered. Covered and obscured. Her hair was tucked back into her hood, the torso of her outfit was loose enough that it hid her chest, and she even had a cheap voice modular sewn into her mask. As Spoiler, she could be anyone.As Robin, she doesn't have the safety of obscurity.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson
Series: Living in the Dawn and Dusk [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735045
Comments: 15
Kudos: 140





	A Broken Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> To be perfectly honest with you guys, Tim was _not_ supposed to make an appearance in this fic. He was just supposed to be a mentioned character, but then Steph decided that, no, Tim would be making an appearance whether I wanted him to or not. Tim’s presence also made the ending of this so much fluffier than it would have been.
> 
> Warnings: Self-depreciating thoughts, mention of scars, mention of surgery, swearing, and alluded to child abuse (emotional).  
> Please tell me if I missed anything!

It doesn't fit, Steph decides as she examines her new suit in the mirror.

Well, mentally it doesn't fit. The actual measurements were perfect, thanks to Alfred. 

It’s the colors- nearly neon red, green, and yellow as opposed to her usual, less eye-catching, eggplant purple- they’re too bright.

Steph bites at the dried domino adhesive that had gotten onto her thumb and furrows her brows. The girl in the mirror mimics her.

Or maybe, it's the exposer.

When she’s Spoiler, everything is covered. Covered and obscured. Her hair was tucked back into her hood, the torso of her outfit was loose enough that it hid her chest, and she even had a cheap voice modular sewn into her mask. As Spoiler, she could be anyone.

As Robin, she doesn't have the safety of obscurity.

Her hair was held back by nothing but a headband, putting her beach blonde hair on display. The fabric was loose enough to give her flexibility but tight enough as to not get in her way, accentuating her figure.

As Robin, she could only be herself.

_ Robin wasn’t hers _ , came an unbidden thought,  _ it never was and never will be _ .

Tim made it pretty clear, as he was pulled kicking and screaming back into the world of the Drakes’, that he wanted Steph to be the one carrying on the mantle ( _ and to keep Batman in check _ was unsaid but heavily implied). But no matter how many times she ran the conversation- him, hanging out his bedroom window, looking worse then any 15 year-old should, and her, sitting precariously on the branch of a tree that hung just out of his reach, trying to convince him to runaway to Brazil with her- it never played out how she wanted, or needed.

She wanted him to run away with her, if not to Brazil then to the endless caverns of the Batcave, where they would sneak up into the manor to try and swipe some of Alfreds cookies and maybe a cup of hot cocoa to live off of. Just until the two pieces of shit that donated to the chemical makeup of her boyfriend's DNA were no longer problems.

She needed him to understand that she could never take his place, as temporary as he made the arrangement seem. She could never do what he did. She could never be who Batman needed her to be.

Truth be told, she had been excited when he had first told her that he wanted her to be the next Robin, but then reality set in.

Tim had contingency plans upon contingency plans for any occasion. Steph’s pretty sure he’s more paranoid than the Batman himself, which was a hard bar to pass. If anyone could puzzle themselves out of this  _ mess  _ it would be Tim.

Tim wasn't getting out, though. Tim  _ wasn’t getting  _ **_out._ **

She hadn’t realized she had been picking at the scab behind her ear from the previous days' surgery until a black gloved hand pulled hers away with a soft, “I wouldn’t do that if I was you.”

At first she thought it was Batman, but a proper look revealed it to be Nighthawk.

Dick Grayson.

(She still wasn't completely over the fact that Gothams’, semi-cryptic, first family were also the Bats and Birds that most people still didn’t believe existed. Not that it was hard to believe, just that people should only be allowed to be so weird.)

He didn’t have his mask on, so his light blue eyes, pinched with concern, were visible.

Dick held her hand between his and began to massage it. The rough texture of his suit was a strange sensation on her glue covered hands.

“Tim picked at his until it got infected and gave all of us all heart attacks by hiding the infection until he collapsed and fell down the grand staircase in the foyer.”

Despite the thoughts that had been plaguing her just barely, Steph snorted because yeah, that was Tim. Her stupid ass boyfriend that believes hes a burden on everyone just by existing. Living, once again, with his biological parents wasn’t going to help much in that regard.

They needed to get him out.

“Hey.”

Though his voice was soft, it broke her away from her spiraling thoughts.

She looked up into Dick’s eyes, expecting to see the usual watery blue, but instead saw brilliant gold that shown with fierce determination.

“We’ll get him back.”

Her next breath was shaky as she tried to keep herself contained. Dick pulled her into his arms and tucked her head under his chin, making her feel unfairly safe.

She had only seen Tim seven times in the past six months. With his parents keeping him under the type of surveillance that made max security prisons swoon and her chaotic schedule as of late, it was kind of hard to plan dates. The communicator that he had managed to sneak away with, but barely used, wasn't exactly made to send meme’s. The, maybe 15 minute, talks that he’d managed to get away with were barely enough time to fill each other in and maybe a quick kiss ifhis window wasn’t locked. It wasn't enough time to delve into Tim’s clearly deteriorating mental health. They really needed to get him  _ out _ of there.

In Dick’s arms, tucked safely against him, she broke.

Steph was wishing that she hadn’t put on her domino mask because her tears were making it start to come off and she had already made a mess of the adhesive the  _ first time _ she put the damned thing on and- and-

She just started to cry harder.

She cried until she had no more tears left to cry. Until only tremors and the inability to  _ breathe goddammit _ wracked her.

Dick just continued to hold her, occasionally rocking back and forth and mummering words of reassurance.

Finally,  _ finally, _ everything stilled and she was able to breathe, albeit a bit shakily, and she gently pushed away from his embrace. He let her go.

She turned away as she pulled off the already loose domino, wiped her eyes, and tried to compose herself.

When she turns back, a weak smile plastered on, Dick just mirrors her.

“You ready?”

“I-,” Steph coughed into her elbow to dialogue the phlegm in her throat, in the back of her mind she realized that this was the first time she’s spoken since she came into the changing room, “I think I want to do something first.”

Dick nodded, understanding. “I think I can distract B for about half an hour, that enough time?”

Steph’s smile wasn't as weak this time.

“Plenty.”

Steph raced up the stairs to the Manor, not really caring that she was breaking Alfred’s rule about no masks upstairs, with the sound of, “Hey, Babi, watch this!” and, “Dick, no!” Fading behind her. She had other priorities.

Not even ten minutes later, she was alighting on her usual branch outside Tim’s window.

She was in luck, and Tim was reading some sort of textbook while sitting on his bed with his back against his window. She glanced around, in the little she could see, in his room looking to see if one of his ‘Caretakers’ were with him (not that they were ever far away).

Then Tim stretched, probably accompanied with a yawn, and knocked his elbow against the window twice. It may not be the most subtle signal, but it worked.

Tim had noticed her, but he wasn’t alone.

Steph saw him place a bookmark in his textbook, get up off the bed, and disappear from view. Probably to convince whoever was with him to leave for a few minutes.

He was back maybe 20 seconds later, but it still felt like forever. During the intermission, she pulled a piece of hair forwards and began to chew on it. A bad habit, she knows, but this was making her more nervous than she first thought she would be.

Tim scanned the shadows and perked up when his eyes caught on her form in the branches. When she shifted into a patch of light, a small smile stretched his face.

_ ‘Looking good’, _ he signed.

The window must be locked, darn.

_ ‘Feeling good,’ _ she signed back. It was a bit of a lie, but close enough to the truth that he wouldn’t notice.

_ ‘Secret Identities R-E-T-R-O?’ _

Stephanie brought a gloveless hand up to her unmasked face and cursed internally, an embarrassed blush rising in her cheeks. She’s so glad Batman was being distracted while she ran out of the ‘cave and didn’t see her.

_ ‘Guess so,’ _ she smiled and shrugged.

Tim let out a snort that, to her, was soundless.

_ ‘First night out?’ _

_ ‘What gave me away?’ _

Apparently, she wasn't as good at hiding her nerves as she thought she was.

_ ‘You nervous,’ _

Before she could formulate a reply, Tim’s easygoing expression dropped away and he glanced nervously to the side. He sent her an apologetic smile and signed a quick,  _ ‘Good luck, ILY,’ _ and walked out of her view. She took it as the sign for her to leave.

Steph smiled as she ran back to the Manor, feeling a little lighter than she had before.

Maybe Robin didn’t fit right now, but maybe she just needed to grow into it.

**Author's Note:**

> If any of you guys have any tips on getting Tim to take a seat in the back instead of trying to run away with the plot, they would be very much appreciated.


End file.
